25 Best Italian Restaurants near Peoria Heights

“It was the husband and I’s first time and we were very thankful for our waitress, Melissa. She took the time and went over things with us, and she was very pleasant and helpful to us. All of the food was great… and we will be back with friends!“

“Great atmosphere, great staff, and even better food.“

“I would recommend Michael’s to anyone looking for great Italian food. The food is great and the staff is extremely friendly. The restaurant has a great atmosphere.“

“A little slow, but it feels like slow of dining in Italy. Any sangria you get is amazing (I’ve had multiple seasonal flavors). Everything is good. Highlights: Chicken parm, baked tortellini, Cajun shrimp, fried chicken.

Dietary restrictions: They have gluten free cheese ravioli

Parking: If the place is packed, parking is hard

Kid-friendliness: Kids were present, not sure of a kids menu, but who doesn’t love noodles and free bread basket?

Wheelchair accessibility: Ramps to get in“

“I dined with a party of 3 and we were extremely impressed with the service we received from Dallas Brown. Friendly, willingness to adapt dishes to our preferences, efficient and continual checks with all of us are a few of the qualities that describe her service. She definitely makes me want to come back again! Thank you!“

“I was very impressed!!! I really enjoyed the privacy curtains. The food was very good cooked perfectly! the service was perfect as well very polite and checked in frequently to be sure everything was good and we had everything we needed. I will be back and recommend to all my friends! If I had 1 complaint I guess I'd say the prices but in reality you get what you pay for all around here. It's worth it to me! I do not recommend this as a restaurant for kids. ☆☆☆☆☆“

“Their pizzas are the best around. I order one every time I’m in town. Every time.“

“I no longer even live in Illinois. But I always make it a point to go to a Michael's and get some subs, garlic bread, and some of their amazing cinnamon bread. You just don't find the bread density and sweetness anywhere else. That combined with pretty decent ingredients. Makes for something that I always seek every single time I make my way into Illinois again. Good deals and decent prices also definitely help. Everybody also loves their bucket of spaghetti which always comes out great and is always a good staple whenever we order the family feasts“

“The food is easily a 10 out of 10. The service is exemplary, friendly and personal. I love eating there. The only con is the price of a Caesar salad, on our last visit my wife and I each got a Caesar salad to start our meal and the two salads alone was $25.00, everything else was inline with the service and atmosphere which is the best.“

“Avanti's is a Midwest icon and for good reason, it's dependable. Everything is always decent, not gourmet but always good. A plain iceberg lettuce salad is just as described on the menu. Truth in advertising! They're not trying to be anything but themselves. I appreciate that. The lasagna noodles were a little past soft and kind of disintegrated into the sauce. But again, it tasted really good. I ate every bit of it and I'll go again when I'm in town because I can depend on it.“

“Good food/Thanks, Chefjohn C.E.C., Hunt“

“I will say the food is always good! The spaghetti fest bucket could be filled up more instead of half way but other then that I love this places food.
On the other hand. No matter how many times me or my boyfriend or both of us go in the girls working are always extremely rude or disrespectful. I try to be understanding and smile at them but there customer service skills are very poor but as I said I'm understanding.
It's 2023 no one wants to work or everyone's under staffed. So it's hard having good employees!
I am extremely happy with how close these guys are to me!
I'm 36 weeks pregnant and this place has been my biggest pregnancy cravings plus it's probably one of the only foods I can keep down!“

“Ate there today with friends - service was great and friendly and everything was DELICIOUS!“

“Their pizza is good, but it's their pasta sauce for me that puts them over the top. I've had quite a few spaghetti's and baked mostaccioli dishes at other restaurants, but Avanti's by far has the best pasta sauce around making their spaghetti and mostaccioli mmm mmm good. Sad thing, I moved to Kentucky and for 2 years have gone without their spaghetti. Recently I took a trip to Peoria and of course I had to stop off at Avanti's and bought back spaghetti's and of course it didn't last that long lol. I've never had their gondolas, which they're famous for, but I do love their bread. I wish there was an Avanti's here in Kentucky. Thanks for the great food
🍝🍕🥖“

“Fast, friendly service and the food was great!“

“Server was friendly and helpful. Salad was a little small.. Food came out fast and hot. Meatballs added were a little disappointing. Were tiny in size was figuring more close to golf ball size. Cost of extra dressing was a tad too high IMO for a paper cup of maybe an ounce and a half of dressing. Overall had a nice meal. Will stick to ordering no extras, not really needed and would rather be better spent on dessert.“

“Update:

Mark the owner called me and was amazing. He offered to absolutely make up for everything even though it was Doordash's fault. This restaurant has wonderful customer service and will definitely have our business from here on out. Thank you Mark, and thank you to your lovely wife as well.

Old review:

I don't even know where to start... This review is mostly about their delivery partner.

I just moved to Peoria, and yesterday, after 8 hours of lugging heavy boxes and furniture up 2 flights of stairs into our apartment, we decided to treat ourselves with a local pizza place.

So I called for delivery because we're sweaty and exhausted, and the employee tells me they only deliver through Doordash.

Crap. I hate Doordash. Nine times out of ten, there's an issue with the delivery. I picked a pizza place, because they usually hire their own drivers.

But we're too tired to find somewhere else to order, so I bite the bullet.

My Doordash order gets here, and of course, there's a whole pizza missing from the order. Typical Doordash. I called the restaurant and he confirmed that the pizza was still sitting there. He offered to call Doordash for a re-delivery, and I said sure, thank you.

Well, 7 phone calls back and forth with Doordash customer service, they told me 1) They'd re-deliver, 2) Oops, they couldn't reach the driver 3) Do you want a refund? 4) Oops, we can't process a refund 5) I'll ask my supervisor for a re-delivery again 6) This time I had to call, and they told me they had to "escalate the issue" 7) It is now the next day, and they tell me they have to "escalate it" again to a different team.

So now it's the next day and I'm still without my refund and without my pizza.

2 stars for the food, because what we did receive was very tasty, but after the day we had and the added stress from Doordash, I don't know if we'll ever order here again. Maybe we'll try a carryout order, but between us working crazy First Responder hours, I don't know if we'll have the time.

So, yeah, very tired, very disappointed...“

“From the moment we stepped into Saffron Social, we knew we were in for something special. The décor is extraordinary, every detail feels intentional, elegant yet inviting, and immediately sets the tone for a memorable evening.

The food was nothing short of a revelation. The chef is a true culinary mastermind, deftly combining flavors that caught us off guard in the best way possible. Each course was a surprise, playful yet refined, and left us eager for the next plate. The smoked old fashioned I enjoyed was among the finest I’ve had and perfectly complemented the meal.

But beyond the menu, the service elevated the entire experience. Jeremy was an absolute delight, warm, attentive, and genuinely passionate about making our evening special. Rob was on constant watch over the dining room, checking in on tables, answering our (many) questions, and even sharing exciting previews of future dishes in the works.

This is more than just a dinner — it’s a full culinary journey from the second the door opens to the final sip of your drink. If you want beautifully crafted food, top-tier ambiance, and service that doesn’t just meet expectations but exceeds them, Saffron Social is a must.“

“I definitely recommend the food is great! The staff however is constantly rude. The last 3 times we’ve been there we’ve had terrible experiences with the staff.“

“Love the da Vinci delight 🍕“

“I am amazed by how well the atmosphere and the food and the drinks in the service are“

“I visit Monicals once during the week for lunch with some of my colleagues from work. The store is well managed and the woman who works lunch taking orders and bringing the food and drinks out to the tables is friendly and has come to know our faces and what we typically order! We always have great service and definitely come back weekly for the atmosphere, speediness and quality!“

“BEST. CUSTOMER. SERVICE. EVER. My son and I came in today before a Dr. appt. As we were boxing up our pizza I biffed and dropped half of it on the floor. Immediately our waitress came over and said she was going to get a fresh one to go because of my accident!!! Amazing customer service. She definitely didn’t need to that because it was my fault!! Thank you so much!!!!!“

“Ronnie is an absolute treasure and adds such value to this restaurant. His personality draws you in immediately and his kind and helpful demeanor exceeded our expectations for service. Despite dining here numerous times in the past, we have never had an experience as good as this one at this location.“

“We arrived around 6:00 p.m. on a Friday night. There were only 10 people in the restaurant. We were seated and got our drinks right way. We sat for 20 minutes before anyone took our order. We got two different waitresses. The first waitress gave us poor service. The other one at least tried. It took 1 half hours just to get served and paid. I usually leave a decent tip but after this experience I left $2.00. Our food was watery and had poor flavor. We will not be returning which is sad because we usually love the food and always had good service.“